Season’s Greetings

From all at Tales from the Laughing Place

For Roy

The above photograph shows the flags at the entrance to Tokyo Disneyland at half-mast in remembrance of Roy E. Disney who passed away last week.

With kind thanks to Tetsuya Kawamura for the photograph.

Tales photographs in Disney Fan Magazine

The current issue of Japan’s long-standing Disney magazine Disney Fan features 9 photographs by Tales Creative Director Lindsay Cave (me in other words :) )

The photographs are of the new land/attraction models displayed at the D23 Expo in September for Cars Land, Grizzly Gulch, Toy Story Land and Mystic Point and are shown in conjunction with other events from the show.

Disney Fan magazine will celebrate 20 years of publication this year.

The February 2010 (number 2) edition is out now and represents the first of many collaborations to come from Tales from the Laughing Place and Disney Fan.

Leaving a Legacy

Roy Disney “hand print” for Walt Disney Studios park - Paris March 2002 (Lindsay Cave)

The passing of Roy  E. Disney was very sad news this week. Tales contributor Rhett Wickham reflects on the legacy of Roy at LaughingPlace.com in the touching

Oh Captain, My Captain...

In Spirit... The World Premiere of Disney’s A Christmas Carol

Inevitable, obvious or predictable may have been first thoughts that came to mind when it was announced that the World Premiere of Disney’s A Christmas Carol would take place in London - after all - despite how worldly and worldly-wise the Charles Dickens classic story is, the setting can never stray far from its’ home. 

However, what transpired as promotion for this interpretation of the story cannot fit into those descriptions that begin this piece. In short: One film, the largest ever premiere of a 3D-movie. a world-record attempt at Christmas carol singing-en-masse and the first ever co-ordinated switch on of three sets of Christmas lights across different locations in London. Tick boxes all round.

At night Regent Street, Oxford Street and St. Paul’s Catherdral are currently playing host to “A Christmas Carol” lights - all switched  to “on” consecutively on the Premiere evening of November 3rd by Jim Carrey & Robert Zemeckis (Oxford Street), Bob Hoskins (St Paul’s Cathedral) and Colin Firth (Regent Street). Beyond this premiere, England’s capital has adopted the notion of “London’s Christmas Carol” and despite the use of the film logo and  “Scrooge” graphics  - “Disney’s” is absent from the street decoration.

Regent Street design

Post-lighting the aforementioned stars would gather in Leicester Square where not one, but three cinemas were hosting the film. The central park was turned into a winter wonderland of snow covered trees, snow flurries, a screen that transmitted coverage from the other London locales and “streetmosphere” featuring Dickens’ era Londoners. 


Andrea Bocelli - who performs the closing number of the film - took to a stage and along with the St Paul’s Cathedral choir led the four crowds (Regent Street, Oxford Street, St Paul’s and Leicester Square) in the record-breaking Christmas Carol attempt via the screen (with lyrics, of course!). Bocelli’s “Silent Night” vocal (as well as his other performances) proved to be a highlight for those attending this premiere.

Andrea Bocelli leads the choirs...

... and Jim Carrey joins the choir

Carrey, Zemeckis, Firth et-al would make the rounds of the press and the photo calls with Carrey giving one girl from the children’s choir that performed in front of the photographers a truly distracting moment as he crept around the back of the choir to sing with her to the delight of the fellow choristers.

After all the snow and singing, interviews and photographs the audiences left the park to three of Leicester Square’s cinemas. A little treat was placed on the cinema seats that may have sweetened how they viewed the film - a treat however that could also have them agreeing with the central character’s key phrase: a humbug.

Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy

Colin Firth and Livia Giuggioli

Robert Zemeckis and Leslie Harter Zemeckis

Bob Hoskins

Producers Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke

Andrea Bocelli

Oxford Street design

Detailing the Dream - Dining the Dream

The restaurants on the Disney Dream include an updated Animator’s Palette and two new experiences: the Royal Palace and the Enchanted Garden. The following images feature cast member costume design and plate or decor for these restaurants.

Animator’s Palette

Enchanted Garden

Royal Palace

Detailing the Dream - Theatres of Dreams

This series of photographs features the furnishings of both the Walt Disney Theatre and Buena Vista Theatre. A new show “Villains Tonight!” will debut - with scenes featuring the Emperor's New Groove’s Yzma, Captain Hook, Cruella and “Welcome to the (F)underworld” of Hades.

Buena Vista Theatre

Walt Disney Theatre

Detailing the Dream - Enhancements of Character

New “innovations” and “firsts for a cruise line” are key elements of what the ship offers, the most exciting being the first ever water coaster aboard a cruise liner: AquaDuck. The photos feature the logo - and the tube which guests will ride on.

Art around the ship - including the atrium features another unique enhancement - where the art becomes animated - an example would be a scene from Bambi where a butterfly flies through the picture. This is created via an LCD screen that activates when a guest is looking at the art.

The inside staterooms also give the guests another first in the industry - the Virtual Porthole where High-definition cameras placed on the exterior of the ship feed live video of the view outside of the ship. At times animated characters - such as Peach - will appear at the window.

Detailing the Dream - A Model Ship

The soon-to-be-much-photographed Admiral Duck that stands in the atrium of the Disney Dream

The model of the Disney Dream was on display along with many of the designs that will feature on the new ship. Here are some photographs of the model: